Securing legitimacy? Policy, practice, and publics in public transport

The concept of legitimacy has largely been absent from the field of transport policy research. In this project we address this gap through an examination of the governance and political articulation of safety issues in the public transport system of Region Stockholm. Using a tripartite framework, we assess the legitimacy of the input (governance by the people), throughput (government with the people) and output (governance for the people) dimensions of Region Stockholm´s public transport system. Through this analysis, the project aims to explore the concept of publicness: addressing important questions regarding public transport systems as a public space and its usage and relation to citizens. The case of safety-related governance in Region Stockholm’s public transport system has been chosen due to the increased attention the topic has garnered in recent years from citizens, politicians, and media-outlets. Moreover, the increased attention towards safety issues has partly been generated as a response to participative processes with citizens, which makes safety a relevant case for this project. The project relies on qualitative methods and includes in-depth interviews and critical policy analysis. This project will contribute with theory development through the operationalization of legitimacy as well as providing new perspectives on governance structures and issues of safety.